It’s been in the 90s (Fahrenheit) the past few days in Louisville and Washington, which bodes ill for a pleasant summer. But according to the Washington Post graphic package above (click to enlarge), the reason it feels so bad is because our bodies haven’t acclimated to the temperature change yet.

I hope that’s the case because the sweat glands are working overtime now.

There are some backward states in this country. Then there’s Mississippi:

JACKSON, Mississippi (AP) — Public schools in Jackson, Mississippi, will no longer handcuff students to poles or other objects and will train staff at its alternative school on better methods of discipline. …

The Mississippi lawsuit was filed in June 2011 by Jeanette Murry on behalf of her then-16-year-old son, who has been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. It said staffers routinely restrained students for hours for offenses as minor as dress code violations, forcing them to eat lunch while chained to a stair railing and to shout for help when they needed to go to the bathroom.

The settlement, approved by U.S. District Judge Tom Lee, says all district employees will stop handcuffing students younger than 13, and can only handcuff older students for crimes. In no case will employees shackle a student to a fixed object such as a railing, a pole, a desk or a chair.

So what, exactly, are handcuffed kids supposed to do if, let’s say, the building catches fire? And why are teachers pretending to be cops and handcuffing kids, anyway:

Joe Biden reminds me of guys my age who grew up around Philly and South Jersey. His home state, Delaware, is right around there.

Occasionally, he’ll say something that rubs people the wrong way, and you know that sooner or later, he’s going to put his foot in his mouth. But you know that deep down, he’s a good guy and he’s speaking from the heart.

Like he does here in a moving, and apparently unscripted, speech late last week, before “Gold Star” families — families of military members who died in wartime.

People talk about politicians being phonies. I don’t get that feeling with our vice president.

1. David Gregory will continue to pay the vig on whatever unholy debt he has incurred with Newt Gingrich by letting Newt tread the “Meet the Press” boards whenever he chooses and spout whatever happy-horseshit he wishes under Gregory’s iron-clad guarantee that Newt will NEVER be asked any tricky or embarrassing follow-up questions.

Just to reiterate, here’s the podcast for April 27 of this year. Go to around the 64 minute mark. Driftglass essentially says “Newt shall return,” because the Sunday talk shows are corrupt.

Today, we honor the men and women who fought and died during wartime for our country. But we also need to honor those who survived and be aware that many of them continue to be haunted by the memories of the horrible situations they faced.